Chakra Inspiration

Hello in 2017, Dear Friends!

Gayle created the most inspiring project to start this year! Not just 1 but actually 8 little pieces of Art, each of them absolutely unique. We hope Gayle's tutorials will ignite your creativity and you will start this New Year making Art with us!

Hello lovely Finnabair friends. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas. I would like to wish each and every one of you happiness for the New Year. May 2017 bring you peace, health and creativity in abundance.

My inspiration for this month's project is a little bit left of field. During the past 2 years I have taken up yoga.

Part of the yoga philosophy is seeing and thinking about your body and how it performs in a different light. Hence I’ve come to know the Chakras, and this is where my inspiration for this project comes from: along with finding 8 chipboard tags while doing a studio clean up.

There just happens to be 7 Chakras; so I thought I would do 7 tags, each one representing one of the them. The eighth tag will be a “title” tag.

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that literally translates to 'wheel' or 'disk'. In yoga this term refers to wheels of energy throughout the body. Each Chakra has a colour and is representative of certain feelings and emotions. I’ve tried to portray these in each tag and also to use a different Finnabair product in each of the 3 tags I have done so far. Here's the result:

No. 1 Eight chipboard tags.
No. 2 Seven coated in Heavy White Gesso and one coated in Black Gesso.

This is Chakra No.1 The base or Root Chakra. It’s colour is red. It’s the Chakra closest to the earth. Its function is with earthly grounding and physical survival.

No.3 Tag painted with Art Alchemy Metallique Royal Red Acrylic Paint.

No.4 Finnabair “Doily” Stencil used with Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint in Metallique Ancient Coin.

No.5 Some washi tape and Finnabair cling stamp from 'Trust The Magic' set.
No.6 Collaged flower image stuck down with Soft Matte Gel.

No.7 Resin flowers painted with Art Alchemy Acrylic Paints.
No.8 Resin feet adhered to the tag using Heavy Body Gel.

No.9 Using Modeling Paste I built up a layer of “ground” below the feet and added Art Ingredients Art Stones and Mechanicals tiny Stars.

No.10 Acrylic Paints used for the stars and stones.

Some gold cord added to represent the roots grounding us to the earth, along with some Gold Leaf Mica Flakes.

Chakra No.2 - the Sacral or Navel Chakra. Its colour is orange and it’s concerned with emotion and represents desire, pleasure, sexuality, procreation and creativity.

No.1 Tag painted with a combination of ink and paint.

No.2 Paper napkin flowers collaged using Soft Matte Gel, then painted over with a coat of Acrylic Paint in Fresh Orange.

No.3 Modeling Paste coloured with Lipstick Mica Powder and then used through another Finnabair "Doily" stencil.

No.4 Heavy Body Gel used to adhere Mechanicals Pendant, lace, butterfly and resin baby.

No.5 Clear Sculpture Medium was used to coat and then shape the piece of fabric into a cupped petal shape for the baby to sit in.

No.6 Gorgeous Micro Beads in Pollen and Copper used to represent the “seeds of life”.

Babies, butterflies, seeds and blooming plants representing birth and the circle of life.

Chakra No.3 - the Solar Plexus. Its colour is yellow. It’s associated with your emotional life. Personal power, laughter, joy and anger. Your sensitivity, ambition and ability to achieve are stored here.

No.1 Finnabair patterned Sunrise Sunset paper stuck down onto the tag with 3D Matte Gel was my starting point.

No.2 Creating texture with White Crackle Texture Paste and “Ripped Fishnet” Stencil.

Using Mixed Media Silicone Brush 1” is perfect for applying any mixed media pastes, gels, gesso or paint.

No.3 Applying napkin image with Soft Matte Gel.
No.4 Adding extra colour with crayon and paint.

No.5 Stamping with Finnabair cling stamps.

No.6 Adding metal Mechanicals and colouring them with Art Alchemy Paint in Metallique Gold Rush.

Gold mesh, butterfly, pearls, Finnabair Rusted Mechanicals and Melange Art Pebbles to represent the many emotions we can feel and express.

Wishing you all every happiness for the year ahead.
May you find the energy that lies within to achieve all that you set out to do this year.
Gayle xx

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